At some point, most farmers who graze livestock wish their pastures were continuous and not broken up by roads, creeks, or other land owners. It makes it much easier to move animals from one pasture to the next if the fields are right next to each other. The land we graze is quite broken up, some of it separated by a mile or two of neighbors. To get animals over all of the pastures we either trailer them or let them walk themselves.
These pictures are of a cow move we do 4 to 5 times a grazing season at the main farm. The cows walk a few hundred yards down Basset Road, the road we live on.
While it is possible for me to do it by myself, it works best to have a helper. The first few moves of the season with the baby calves can be a bit disorganized. We set up some of our sheep fences to help guide the calves but we usually end up with a calf on the other side of the road for a little while.
This is our last move of the year as it is the cows' last rotation of the pastures before we begin winter feeding. This time of year it usually goes smoothly because the calves have figured out what is going on.
Thanks for reading,
Leith, Mary Kate & Norah MacKenzie